Mariana L. Sears
<< 2021 Board of Directors Elections
1. Why would you like to serve on the City Market Board? What excited you about becoming a Board Member?
Because I love City Market and I believe in its Global Ends! I believe in the power of organic and local food to nurture and heal people. I believe in the cooperative model to transform the community. I believe the local food system is a main player in the economic development of a city. I want to help our coop to continue being a main actor in the downtown scene and I am thrilled about the learning opportunity that serving on the Board will mean to me.
2. Please describe any professional skills you have that will help you to be an effective Board Member. How would you help the Board to balance the business needs of a $50 million business with the need to meet our Global Ends as a community-owned cooperative?
I am a mother of four, so I am organized, creative and efficient.
I am also the Executive Director of America’s First Fair Trade Town Committee, in Media, PA so I enjoy working with volunteers and have experience participating in board and committee meetings.
I am a journalist by training so I can communicate ideas in a clear manner, and I am not afraid to ask questions. I worked for the Burlington Free Press as a staff writer and learned about Burlington and its surrounding communities, local issues, culture, and politics. I was born and raised in Argentina, so I have a different point of view in many topics. I think I will be able to help the Board by contributing insight, brainstorming, raising questions, and bringing up my unique point of view when appropriate.
3. Describe your prior involvement with community organizations and/or cooperatives. What did you learn from these experiences?
I have been involved with community organizations ever since I was a child.
I volunteered weekly at a day care center as a teen after school and helped my mother with her own community engagements while growing up.
As an adult, I continued that path and was always involved in volunteer activities: from reading stories to kids at the library to growing veggies at a community garden and delivering CSA shares to families during the pandemic. I learned that union creates strength and that getting involved in one’s community benefits everyone. It creates a sense of belonging like no other activity does. Community organizations are the bridges that link the many different social groups of a place.
4. What opportunities and challenges do you see in the future of City Market?
I think City Market has the potential to bring its model to neighboring communities and all along the state of Vermont and New England! I imagine the coop partnering with more local organizations, such as the hospital and the school district to bring healthier food choices to more people.
The Covid 19 pandemic will continue to challenge the operations of the coop, but I also see climate change to bring its own set of difficulties to local food growers at some point in the not-so-far future. The Board should pay close attention to foreseeable changes and plan for possible difficult future scenarios.